Four-headed Eagle Dream
I was riding on a four-headed, four-wheeled eagle. Their heads were shaped like an eagle, but with human skin. There were two wheels in the front and two in the back. Their eyes roamed from side-to-side, up and down. We weren’t flying swiftly through the air, just gliding. My eyes were fixed on their eyes. We were surrounded by white. They couldn’t speak, but as I peered into their eyes, the unspoken message was that we would roam the four corners of the earth. They would never go backward, only forward. End of dream. (2014)
In my dream there was nothing in view beyond the being. The simple message was to go with God, rest in him, and we’ll move forward, never backwards. To keep my eyes fixed on God no matter the direction and that his eyes are on me.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalm 32:8
In my spirit I knew there was more to this dream. I had this wonderful sense there was something powerful that was still to be seen and understood.
The eagle is universally revered as one of the most beautiful and powerful birds on the planet. An eagle exhibits beauty and grandeur, strength, and rises to heights few birds can soar. And, it is a bird in the Bible that depicts how to rely on God and let him carry you where he wills. “You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” Exodus 19:4
It is humanly impossible to ride on an eagle. If I could, I wouldn’t hesitate. It would be a remarkable adventure. If we soared the sky, I would be fully dependent as to how fast, how slow, how high, and which direction the eagle would travel. For some, the thought of this is exhilarating and for others it’s petrifying. Isn’t that just how our relationship with God can look at different times in our lives? It’s exciting or we are left trembling because we can’t see what lies ahead.
When I awakened from my dream, there was nothing that I could recall in my day or in the past several months that would have triggered a dream like this. A few weeks I was reading the story of Ezekiel in the Old Testament. At the time of my dream, his story was the furthest thing in my conscious mind. These verses beautifully illustrate God’s personal message to me.
In Ezekiel, chapter one, he had a vision of a four-headed being. The four heads I dreamt about are different from those that were in his vision, but they still provide spiritual insight and guidance to the interpretation of my dream. (Note: many times the symbols that are in our dreams can represent more than one thing. Scripture should always support the interpretation.)
The Life Application Study Bible states that the four beings may represent the four gospels (eagle’s face was human flesh). Is God preparing me to share the gospel in new ways, in different places? I believe he is and much of this is being fulfilled four years after I had this dream. (The work I’m doing for the Lord today was not in my view four years ago.)
The wheels described in Ezekiel are a glorious picture of the continual presence of the Holy Spirit.
“When the four living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. The spirit of the four living beings was in the wheels. So wherever the spirit went, the wheels and the living beings went, too. When the living beings moved, the wheels moved. When the living beings stopped, the wheels stopped. When the living beings flew into the air, the wheels rose up. For the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.” Ezekiel 1:15-21.
You can do a more in-depth Biblical understanding of Ezekiel’s vision, but for my dream, Ezekiel’s vision brings to life a promise and a plan God has for my life.
It would be easy to move on from a message like this. It is a picture of impossibilities in the natural realm, but it is an extraordinary promise to believe God can and will do what he says. I’m to go, trust, and enjoy the spirit-led venture.
There is no way, humanly possible, that I can take what he has asked me to the four corners of the earth. I am making the choice to ride the wings of Jesus, go where he leads, and I’m looking forward to entering into unknown territory. Forward represents spiritual progress.
God wants to perform inconceivable and insurmountable wonders through each of us. He wants to bring us to himself to do the unimaginable. He wants each of us to make an unwavering decision to trust him. With the help of the Holy Spirit, [wheels] it’s easier to give him permission to choose the direction, how fast, how high, and the pace to which he leads. When I learn to trust, I’m more content and patient in the waiting.
We can depend on him. We must believe he will do what he says otherwise his words hold no value and purpose in our lives.
Take time to evaluate what God has called you to and whether or not you are letting him orchestrate the details in your life. As you ponder the following questions, “Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” Romans 12:3
Do you find yourself saying, “I would never move?” “I would never do this or that?”
Are they your plans or is it because God has given you peace to stay? I pray it’s the latter.
When you walk in the presence of the Holy Spirit he will help you glide at a pace that is comfortable for you.
Does the thought of giving God control and entering into unknown territory instill a sense of calm, the ability to rest on “eagles wings,” or leave you panic-stricken?
Is there something stirring in your spirit but you don’t know how to take a step of faith?
If a passion to do something new is stirring within your soul, the Holy Spirit will guide you. The Holy Spirit is the wheels that help you to make spiritual progress for the Lord.
I’m so thankful to God for dreams that so beautifully describe his plans and promises.
Take time to see how scripture supported the purpose of my dream.
Ezekiel 1 (MSG):
Verses 5-6: From the center of the cloud came four living beings that looked humans, except that each had four faces and four wings.”
Verse 8 “Each of the four beings had four faces…”
Verse 10 “Each had a human face in the front, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle at the back.
Verse 12 They went in whatever direction the spirit chose, and they moved straight forward in any direction without turning around.
Verse 17 The beings could move in any of the four directions they faced, without turning as they moved.
Verse 20-21 “The spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. So wherever the spirit went … for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.”
How Ezekiel 1 ends is a picture that I would love to behold:
26 Above this surface was something that looked like a throne made of blue lapis lazuli. And on this throne high above was a figure whose appearance resembled a man.
27 From what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like gleaming amber, flickering like a fire. And from his waist down, he looked like a burning flame, shining with splendor. 28 All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory of the Lord looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone’s voice speaking to me.
17-21 “They went in any one of the four directions they faced, but straight, not veering off. The rims were immense, circled with eyes. When the living creatures went, the wheels went; when the living creatures lifted off, the wheels lifted off. Wherever the spirit went, they went, the wheels sticking right with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.”
Thumbnail photo: viewsonic99
